Cannabis in North Korea

The status of cannabis in North Korea is unclear due to the lack of sources available to the outside world, with some observers stating that cannabis is effectively legal, or at least tolerated, in the country and others arguing that this is a misapprehension and that marijuana is illegal in the republic.

In 2010, the American NGO Open Radio for North Korea stated that their source informed them that a crackdown on meth had been announced in Hamkyungbuk-do, but that the crackdown was focused on methamphetamine, with opium and marijuana not being considered "drugs".[1] In 2013, citing sources at NK News and Reddit, Vice News reported that cannabis was widely used and tolerated in North Korea, smoked as ip tambae (잎담배, "leaf tobacco") by the lower classes as a cheap alternative to cigarettes and to relax after a day of labor.[2]

However, a reply by journalist Keegan Hamilton in a 2014 article in The Guardian sought to debunk these as rumors. He cited Matthew Reichel of the Pyongyang Project who notes that ipdambae is actually an mixture of herbs and tobacco, superficially resembling cannabis but unrelated. Cannabis is cultivated industrially, but in the form of low-THC hemp, and while some people may cultivate personal amounts of psychoactive cannabis, its use is not condoned, though it is also unlikely to be punished severely.[3]

Defection

In 1962, American soldier Allen Abshier, stationed in South Korea, defected to North Korea to avoid court-martial charges after having been caught smoking marijuana five or six times.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Drug Users Face Firing Squad". Open Radio for North Korea. 27 October 2010.
  2. ↑ "North Korea Smokes Weed Every Day, Explaining a Lot - VICE - United States". 16 January 2013.
  3. ↑ Shearlaw, Maeve; experts, North Korea (13 May 2014). "Mythbusters: uncovering the truth about North Korea" – via The Guardian.
  4. ↑ "When the first American soldier defected to North Korea - NK News - North Korea News". 28 May 2013.
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